Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an extractor assembly, and more particularly to an extractor assembly for rimless shells in a barrel assembly of a breech loading firearm.
Related Art
There are many different trigger mechanisms and extractor systems that have been created for various firearms, including breech-loading firearms in which the barrel rotates relative to the frame such as in derringer-style pistols, most revolvers and shotguns, and some hunting rifles.
Extractor mechanisms for removing rimless cartridges from the firing chamber of firearms usually include an extractor element that slides relative to the chamber while it engages with the cartridge. As indicated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,646,458, it is often not possible in small handguns to provide the degree of extractor element movement required to effect full cartridge extraction. According to this known invention, it may be necessary to provide a means for disengaging the extractor element from a partially extracted cartridge to enable the partially withdrawn cartridge to be dumped or manually removed from the firing chamber. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,715,825, an ejector for a long, tapered cartridge has a short travel but requires the ejector arm to bend as it extends out from its guiding groove. This design requires an elastic ejector arm which is flexible and can be inadvertently bent, and the repeated cyclical bending of the arm may result in fatigue or plastic deformation that could cause the arm to break. The present invention provides an alternative solution to the problem associated with such extractors.
The firearms with a rotating barrel have a catch to lock the barrel in the firing position and a release to allow the barrel to rotate into the loading position, and some of these firearms include a secondary latch or other mechanism to ensure that the barrel does not accidentally rotate out of the firing position while the gun is being discharged. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 27,399 discloses a rotatable trigger guard and a bar with a pair of catches which operate together to prevent the accidental rotation of the barrel. The trigger guard is connected to an inner arm that rotates the barrel between the firing and loading positions, and the bar has a catch on one end to latch the breech of the barrel in the firing position and a secondary catch at the opposite end which is latched by a notch in the rotatable trigger guard. In order to rotate the barrel into the loading position, the catch and secondary catch are released, and the trigger guard must then be rotated downwardly so that the inner arm is moved upwardly with the barrel. Another example of a device to prevent the accidental rotation of the barrel is described by U.S. Pat. No. 3,561,149. According to the '149 Patent, a bolt engages a latching recess in the receiver to lock the barrel in the firing position, and the horn of the trigger guard is moved upwardly to unlock the bolt from the latching recess while simultaneously sliding a safety between the hammer and the receiver to prevent an accidental firing. The horn must be moved to its full upward position in order for the trigger to engage a bar that connects to the sear, and without this engagement between the trigger and the bar, it is not possible to cock the hammer for firing. Both of these barrel locking designs are rather complicated because they require the actuation of additional structural elements other than the trigger. Accordingly, it would be beneficial to provide a barrel locking mechanism which engages when the barrel is closed and has a secondary locking mechanism that is actuated by the trigger itself.
There are also devices that use the trigger to unlock the barrel lock, such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,662,097, or that prevent the trigger from moving to the firing position by engaging the trigger when the barrel assembly is out of the firing position, such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,165,383, but these devices are not a secondary locking mechanism. Additional barrel locking mechanisms are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 893,465, 1,562,501, 4,156,980, 4,914,845, and 6,655,065.